Otosclerosis
On a personal note – maybe this will help someone else.
In November 2009 while in the final stages of a cold, I started hearing a ‘whooshing sound’ in my one ear. Apparently the whooshing sound was actually the blood moving through my carotid artery with every heart beat. For an entire year it never stopped. Sometimes the sound would be faint. Other times, especially when it was quiet, the whooshing sound would be so loud that it helped mask my husband’s snoring. (At least one good benefit!) It also made it more difficult to hear in that ear. Doctors prescribed antibiotics, decongestants, antihistamines and prednisone. Nothing helped. As I was approaching the one year mark, I decided to try a second ENT. He ran a number of hearing tests, including bone conduction, and diagnosed me with otosclerosis. Basically, it’s a fusion of the hammer, anvil and stapes in your ear. His prognosis was not good. There was even the possibility that I might develop it in my other ear.
However, there is a happy ending to my story. About a week later I stopped hearing the whooshing sound. I wonder if the vibration of the bone conduction testing ‘unstuck’ those three little bones. I have a follow-up appointment in May, and I’ll see what the ENT thinks happened. In the meantime, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t return again.
admin | 
December 12, 2010 8:20 pm
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